Night-train operators
The companies that run the world’s sleeper trains, from Europe to Asia and North America — who they are, where they go, and how their tickets, passes and cabins work.
ÖBB Nightjet is Austrian Federal Railways' night-train brand and Europe's largest sleeper network, connecting Austria with Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Benelux, Poland, Hungary and Croatia. It expanded rapidly after Deutsche Bahn withdrew from the night-train business in December 2016, taking over several former DB routes. Since 2023 it has been rolling out new-generation carriages with mini-cabins and ensuite showers on its core long-haul lines.
Amtrak is the United States' national intercity passenger railroad, operating a network of long-distance overnight trains that cross the country in one to four nights. Western routes use bi-level Superliner equipment, while eastern routes constrained by New York's tunnels use single-level Viewliner cars in which every Roomette has its own private toilet and sink.
European Sleeper is an independent Belgian-Dutch night-train start-up that launched its first Brussels–Amsterdam–Berlin–Prague route in May 2023, filling a gap left after most international sleepers were cut in the 2000s-2010s. It is now expanding into new corridors, including Paris (March 2026) and, planned, Milan (September 2026).
Intercités de Nuit is SNCF's domestic French night-train network, radiating from Paris Austerlitz to the Alps, Pyrenees and Mediterranean coast. The network was state-subsidised from 2017 after near-total closure and has since kept legacy routes running, including seasonal winter ski trains.
Intercity Notte is Trenitalia's domestic overnight network linking Rome and Milan with Sicily and the south, including the unique train-ferry crossing of the Strait of Messina, the only place in Europe where passenger carriages are loaded onto a ship. It offers four comfort tiers from budget seats to private ensuite compartments.
SJ is Sweden's state-owned railway operator, running domestic night trains from Stockholm to northern Sweden (Narvik, Luleå/Umeå) and the ski resort of Åre, plus a historic Stockholm–Berlin sleeper via the Øresund Bridge. Its Lapland/Norrland night services were disrupted through 2026 by a contested tender, before a new SJ contract secured them through 2028.
PKP Intercity is Poland's state long-distance rail operator, running an extensive domestic TLK night-train network plus new international sleeper links launched in 2025-2026, including the summer-only 'Adriatic Express' to Croatia/Slovenia and the now year-round 'Baltic Express' to Prague.
Vietnam Railways is the state-owned operator of the historic Reunification Express ('Thống Nhất') running the length of the country between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, first opened in 1936 under French colonial administration and reunified as a single line in 1976. On its popular short branch line to Lao Cai (gateway to Sapa), Vietnam Railways leases individual sleeper carriages to a cluster of private tourist-class operators, including Chapa Express and Victoria Express, that attach to its own scheduled trains.
Caledonian Sleeper runs Britain's only long-distance sleeper service, linking London Euston with Scotland on two routes: the Highlander (Fort William, Inverness, Aberdeen) and the Lowlander (Glasgow, Edinburgh). It has been publicly owned by the Scottish Government since June 2023, and added a Birmingham International stop in January 2026.
České dráhy is the Czech state railway operator, running or co-operating around nine year-round and two seasonal international night-train routes from Prague, including a EuroNight to Zurich and new 2025-launched links toward the Ukrainian border and the Polish Baltic coast.
Indian Railways is the world's fourth-largest state-owned rail network, running premier overnight AC services such as the Rajdhani Express between the national capital and major cities across the country. Tickets for foreign tourists are typically booked through the IRCTC platform under a Foreign Tourist Quota that opens further ahead than the standard 60-day domestic advance window.
The State Railway of Thailand is the country's state-owned rail operator, running overnight sleeper trains from Bangkok to the northern city of Chiang Mai and south toward the Gulf of Thailand coast at Surat Thani. Since January 2023, all Bangkok long-distance departures moved from the historic Hua Lamphong terminus to the new Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal (Bang Sue Grand Station).
The Sunrise Izumo and Sunrise Seto are Japan's last regularly scheduled sleeper trains, jointly operated by JR West and JR Central. The two trains run coupled together as a single formation between Tokyo and Okayama, where they split: the Izumo portion continues to Izumoshi in Shimane Prefecture, and the Seto portion continues to Takamatsu on Shikoku island.
Abela Trains (formerly branded 'Watania Sleeping Train') operates Egypt's only overnight sleeper service, a single through train linking Cairo with Luxor and Aswan along the Nile Valley. Abela Trains took over operation under contract with Egyptian National Railways (ENR) in August 2023.
VIA Rail Canada is Canada's national passenger rail Crown corporation, operating two flagship long-distance overnight services: The Canadian across the Rockies and Canadian Shield from Toronto to Vancouver, and The Ocean along the Atlantic coast from Montreal to Halifax. Neither route runs daily.
Snälltåget is a Swedish open-access operator (part of Transdev) best known for its domestic Stockholm–Malmö service and its seasonal Berlin–Stockholm night train via Copenhagen and the Øresund Bridge. It expanded its Berlin service in 2026 to help cover the gap left by SJ's withdrawal from that corridor.
Vy (formerly NSB, rebranded in 2019) is Norway's principal state-owned rail operator. It runs the country's most celebrated sleeper service, the Bergensbanen night train between Oslo and Bergen, and is introducing new Stadler-built sleeper trains from 2026.
SJ Nord is the Norwegian long-distance brand of Sweden's SJ (operating as SJ Norge), running the Dovrebanen (Oslo–Trondheim) and Nordlandsbanen (Trondheim–Bodø) night trains since winning the government concession that began in 2019-2020.
RegioJet is a private Czech open-access operator founded by Radim Jančura in 2011, competing with state railways on domestic and international corridors. Each summer it runs seasonal overnight trains from Prague to the Croatian coast (Zagreb, Rijeka and Split) in partnership with Croatian Railways (HŽPP).
MÁV is Hungary's state railway company, jointly operating international EuroNight services from Budapest including the daily 'Ister' sleeper to Bucharest (run with Romania's CFR) and partner routes toward Vienna, Munich and Warsaw.
KTM Berhad is Malaysia's national railway operator. Its Ekspres Rakyat Timuran overnight service on the East Coast 'Jungle Line' between Johor Bahru and Tumpat is the last surviving overnight sleeper train in the country, after the historic Kuala Lumpur-Singapore sleeper was discontinued and other corridors were modernised into faster daytime electric trains.
China Railway is the state operator of China's vast rail network. Alongside its dominant high-speed daytime services, it continues to run conventional overnight sleeper trains on major corridors such as Beijing-Shanghai, including newer CR200J 'Revival Green' sleeper sets, giving travellers a way to save a hotel night versus the roughly 4.5-hour daytime high-speed alternative.
ONCF is Morocco's national railway operator. It once ran a genuine single-berth private sleeping car on the overnight Marrakesh-Tangier corridor, but this was discontinued in early 2022; today the overnight service on this route offers only shared 4-berth air-conditioned couchette compartments and ordinary seated cars, not private cabins.
Trenhotel was Renfe's premium night-train brand, which at its peak linked Madrid and Barcelona overnight with Lisbon, Paris, Zurich and Milan. All international and most domestic Trenhotel services were wound down through the 2010s, and the last survivor, the Madrid-Lisbon 'Lusitania', was suspended in March 2020 and never restored.
Who runs Europe's night trains
Night trains in Europe aren’t run by one company with a shared standard — they’re a patchwork of state railways, regional brands and a handful of independent upstarts, and that shapes almost everything about the experience. ÖBB Nightjet is the giant of the group, Europe’s largest night-train network, radiating out from Vienna to Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Benelux countries, Poland, Hungary and Croatia. It’s also the operator investing most visibly in new stock, rolling out new-generation Comfort and Comfort Plus carriages with ensuite mini-cabins since 2023, so the physical train you board can vary a lot depending on the route and the year.
At the other end of the scale is European Sleeper, a Dutch-Belgian startup founded in 2021 that launched its flagship Brussels–Amsterdam–Berlin–Prague service in May 2023 and has been expanding since — its own Paris–Berlin route arrived in March 2026, with a Hamburg stop added that July, and a Brussels–Milan line is planned for September 2026 though not yet running. Running only three times a week per corridor with leased rolling stock, it’s a leaner operation than the state incumbents, and that shows in both pricing and how far ahead you need to book.
Same cabin name, different train
This is where it gets confusing for first-time bookers: cabin names aren’t standardised across operators. Nightjet calls its top private tier “Comfort” and “Comfort Plus.” Trenitalia’s Intercity Notte uses “Excelsior” for its private ensuite option and “Smart” further down. European Sleeper keeps it simple with “Budget,” “Classic” and “Comfort.” Caledonian Sleeper, Britain’s only long-distance sleeper service, has its own vocabulary again — “Classic Room,” “Club Room” and the “Caledonian Double.” A “Comfort” cabin on one operator might be roughly equivalent to a “Classic” cabin on another; always check what the tier actually includes rather than assuming from the name.
Booking windows and rail passes
How far ahead you can book varies by operator and matters for planning: PKP Intercity in Poland only opens 60 days out, most operators sit in the 90–120 day range — SNCF Intercités de Nuit, Trenitalia, MÁV, ČD — while ÖBB Nightjet, Caledonian Sleeper and Snälltåget stretch to 180 days. Rail pass acceptance is just as uneven. Trenitalia, Vy, SJ Nord, MÁV, ČD and PKP Intercity accept Eurail and Interrail fully. Nightjet, SNCF and SJ Nattåg accept passes but require a compulsory reservation and cabin supplement, and allocation for pass holders is limited. Caledonian Sleeper takes Interrail only, and only with a GB rail pass add-on. European Sleeper, Snälltåget and RegioJet accept no passes at all — full fare for everyone, pass or not.
Booking direct
Where possible, booking on the operator’s own site tends to give you the clearest view of cabin categories and the fewest surprises at fare-lock time, though aggregators like Omio or Trainline can be useful for comparing across operators on a single itinerary. Reservations are essentially always compulsory on a night train regardless of what pass or ticket you hold, so build that into your planning whichever route you choose.